Announcements

There is an increasing concern regarding the role of climate change in promoting the spread of waterborne infectious diseases such as those caused by pathogenic Vibrio. In the EU and national science foundations funded biodiversa project "BaltVib" nature based solutions to prevent pathogenic Vibrio blooms in the Baltic Sea are investigated.

"Only few species of the Vibrio are pathogenic for humans, several of those prefer brackish conditions and higher temperature we are currently experience" said Prof. Herlemann who is the principal investigator in the biodiversa project at Estonian University of Life Sciences. Together with Prof. Georg Martin and his diving team from Estonian Marine Institute University of Tartu, samples from the seagrass areas in the Estonian archipelago are sampled since seagrass may have the natural ability to reduce pathogenic Vibrio loads in the water. "Protecting and restoring seagrass communities may be an option for a natural strategy to control pathogenic Vibrios in Estonian coastal waters" suggests Prof. Martin.

The biodiversa project is led by Prof. Matthias Labrenz from the Leibniz Institute of Baltic Sea Research, Warnemünde in Germany. The German Research Vessel Elisabeth Mann Borgese supports the Baltic Sea wide sampling campaign in summer 2021 through a Scientific Research Diving team and by directly processing the samples in the ship laboratories. The research vessel leaves Estonia on 11. August to meet with the Finnish project partners.

The goal of the BaltVib project is to reduce the health risks and economic impact of pathogenic Vibrio in the Baltic Sea using intelligent coastal area management. BiodivERsA is a network of national funding organizations that promotes Europe-wide research on biodiversity and ecosystem services. BaltVib is funded by the EU, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Innovation Fund Denmark, the Estonian Research Council, the Research Council of Lithuania, the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, the Polish National Science Centre and the Academy of Finland.

 

Contact person: Prof. Daniel Herlemann (Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences) and Prof. Georg Martin (Estonian Marine Institute).